1. Bier Baron now carrying Omission beer
After a glorious Michigan victory over Michigan State this weekend, I headed to Bier Baron in Dupont for a gluten free beer. Watching your friends drink beer all day at a bar while you have mixed drinks can sure make a girl thirsty!
I was psyched to see that Bier Baron now has Omission pale ale on their menu. However, they were out when I went 😦
But, our awesome waiter was kind enough to bring me all three of the other gluten free beers they have, on the house! After passing them around the table, my friends confirmed that the New Planet Off Grid is kind of funky. I’ve never been a fan of New Grist, but when you have them side-by-side, it actually tastes quite like the St. Peter’s (both are sorghum based and light beers, so it makes sense).
2. Vace Italian Deli in Cleveland Park has a crap ton of gluten free pasta
Even though I live about a five minute walk from Vace Italian Deli, I only went in once before since I only ever saw people buying pizza there. A reader tipped me off (thanks, Fede!) that they have a bunch of authentic Italian pastas that are gluten free!
They have corn riccioli, rice gigli, and one pasta made with squid ink (plus the naturally gluten free risotto). Pair one of these with a homemade sauce (they carry them fresh and frozen), and you’ve got yourself a meal! One more win for my neighborhood!
3. The Maryland crab soup at Clyde’s is gluten free
I went to the last game in the NLDS series (heartbreaker), and was freezing cold and standing up for about six hours. So when I got to Clyde’s in Chinatown and found out that their Maryland crab soup is gluten free, I was overjoyed. Two bowls later and I was feeling slightly better about the Nats losing, and much warmer.
Just a few things happening around this great city in the gluten free realm!
Gluten Free? Gimme Three! 
Just something to be aware of, Omission may not be GF. Omission is brewed with barley, and while the company thinks that a process it uses removes the gluten and tests each batch using a new test for that process, it acknowledges that the test’s conclusiveness hasn’t yet been determined. As a result, the brewer admits that it can’t say for sure that Omission is GF, and you won’t see GF anywhere on the product’s labeling:
“We’re committed to ensuring that every bottle of Omission beer meets our team’s standards. Each batch of Omission Pale Ale and Omission Lager is tested by an independent lab using the R5 Competitive ELISA for gluten content. Although there is scientific evidence supporting this testing, the evidence is not conclusive. Omission beer may contain gluten.”
There’s been some discussion of this on other blogs if you’re interested . . . .
Thanks for the heads-up on Vace, that’s great to know!
The TTB hasn’t let Omission label their bottles gluten free because of the concerns about the accuracy of the testing for fermented products.
Another new GF friendly restaurant in DC: Protein Bar in Penn’s Quarter! They mark which dishes are gluten free and vegan. I had the buffalo chicken quinoa bowl today, and it was absolutely delicious! Fresh, crisp, and very filling.
http://www.theproteinbar.com/penn-quarter–7th–amp–d–location-6.php
Thanks, Anna! I’ve been meaning to go there since it opened but it’s a bit out of the way for me. It’s on my list though! Thanks for the tip!
I recently went to Redline in Chinatown to try Omission and had the same problem that they were out. Guess it’s pretty popular. However, I was able to buy a case, and thought it was tasty (although anything from Green’s still definitely tops my list of GF beers) and I didn’t have a reaction if it contained any gluten, and I’m pretty gluten-sensitive.
I didn’t know they carried it at Redline! (Or are supposed to carry it, haha). And yeah, the CEO and most of the staff at Omission have celiac disease, so I trust that they wouldn’t distribute something that isn’t safe for fellow celiacs.
I’ve spoken to countless celiacs who say they would rather take some shortcuts than give up the foods they love… Yet science shows that a lack of outward symptoms does not mean low level gluten is not having adverse effects on your health. If we have higher standards for our health, companies will have to as well.
Gluten Free Kneads has great thin pizza crusts and cokoie mixes. I never cared for any GF products whose main substitute ingredients are rice, soy, corn. They do not taste good, they lack nutrition, and they should not be overpriced since rice, soy, corn are all government subsidized ingredients.